Before Us All
by LittleLovingWriter
Summary: What happened, you asked me, before Ellie was born? What happened when Marlene, the ambitious Firefly who believed she could save the world got tangled with Anna, the stubborn military officer and future mother to Ellie Williams? What happened, when Anna hid a secret she shouldn't have kept? Let me tell you, dear reader, what happened. Let me you what happened, Before Us All.
1. What a wonderful world

Anna woke up in the middle of the night, feeling the weight of her thin, cold blanket almost crush her under it's weight. She blinked a few times, rolled from her stomach to her side, and let out a soft groan. _Christ, is being able to sleep for more than three hours too much to ask? _

She pulled herself out of bed, knowing there was no use trying to go back to sleep,and placed two feet on the cold, damp, cement floor. Her two-bedroom apartment looked bad- paint peeled off the walls, mold grew in the damp corners and stains of God-knows-_what _dotted on the floors- but then again, so did every other apartment in the damned quarantine zone. At least she got to share it with her nephew- a teenage boy named Nathan who loved nothing more than to get himself into trouble.

Anna rubbed her face with her hands, trying to wake herself up. Jesus, how did it all end up like this? It took the world less than a week to go to shit, less than two for the military to replace to government, and less than a month to establish QT zones all over the place. Was that four years ago? Five? More? The cobwebs in her mind hadn't withered yet, and she couldn't remember for the life of her.

She stood up and painfully shuffled to herself to the door, that creaked in protest as she forced it open.

She was just about to check up on Nathan when a backpack- no, _the _backpack got her attention. She'd found it while patrolling sector five, maybe a week ago, and she'd been both curious and stupid enough to bring it home with her.

She walked over to it, and examined it once again. It looked like most of the backpacks you'd find nowadays- brown, made of cloth, ripped in many places but still usable, with lots of dirt and other grime. It's main pocket was held closed with two dark brown belts, just like the other two smaller ones on each side. The left strap had been ripped, the right horribly worn-out. Anna could tell that it had been sewn it back together more than once, and she wondered why anyone would even bother with it - after all, you could find a million more packs just like this one in the slums, for no more than a few ration cards.

She carefully undid the belts, not wanting to ruin them any more. Her hand dug around it for a bit, until she finally found what she'd been looking for.

She pulled out the pendant and held it between her fingers, examining it once again. Right on the front side, the infamous Firefly logo decorated it. She could tell that rust had been eating at it for quite a while, and the thing was dented in a few places- she couldn't even make out the name on the back anymore. She knew she'd be shot on the spot if anyone else found it, but, for whatever reason, it was a beautiful thing to her, and she intended to keep it.

Anna stared at it for a while, loosing herself in thought. The fireflies were stronger than ever, and she was even considering joining them. Working as one of the guards in the QTZ zone was hell on earth, and if she'd been given any other option, she'd go with it in a heartbeat. It was a dirty job for ruthless people, who had the heart to execute someone that begged for their life. Those fuckers were as bad as the infected as far as she was concerned.

Maybe she could take Nate and run. It would be better, right? Her job now _did_ have its advantages - she got paid well in ration cards and had a safe apartment - but the quarantine zone was still far from the life that she wanted her nephew to have. Public executions of alleged fireflies just so those jarheads could remind people who ran the quarantine zone, people begging for ration cards so that they could feed their children, smugglers, alcoholics and other horrid things weren't what a boy should have to see every day. He would constantly reassure her that he was fine with his life, but she didn't, and never would, believe him.

OK, let's say she did decide to go with the fireflies. What then? Where would she find one? How would she get out of the city? Would Nathan want to go? Of course he would, why not? Did the fireflies have a quarantine zone, and if so, was it any better than this one?

Gah, she couldn't think about these things in three in the morning.

Anna put the pendant back it the backpack, too tired to close the fold. She walked over to Nathan's room, feeling her body shiver each step of the way and deeply regretting not bringing her blanket with her.

She slowly pushed his door open, making sure to not wake him up.

His room, as it had the previous night, lay in a thick blanket of darkness. It looked a bit better than hers- he had an actual bed, a small wooden desk on which sat a small lamp and a clock, and last but not least, a wardrobe she'd been lucky enough to get for him. He had a window that he always kept open during the night, despite Anna's constant badgering him to keep it closed. She swore, he kept it open just to piss her off.

The kid was rebellious, just like his mother.

Christ, he even looked like her. His chocolate hair, green eyes, soft cheekbones and button nose that was dotted freckles made him look so much like Anna's sister that it hurt. She missed her more than she could put into words.

_I've kept my promise all these years, Paige. I always will._

She forced herself to stop thinking about her. She'd break into tears if she didn't.

Anna blinked a few times, looking over at the clock that read 3:24. She had a night shift, she needed the sleep.

_**20 hours later**_

_**The Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone is split into 8 areas. **_

_**Area 1 - Military base**_

_**Area 2 - Warehouse and other storage**_

_**Area 3 - Electricity, power and machinery**_

_**Areas 4 through 8 - Living quarters.**_

_**Please refrain from leaving your area without proper authorization and/or permission from military personnel. We kindly remind you that such actions may lead to severe consequences. We thank you for your cooperation. **_

Anna read the last paragraph again, letting a chuckle bounce off her lips. Dirty, wrinkled maps like this one stood hung up on the entrances of each area, and all of them held that infamous text. It was almost funny: _If you don't do as we tell you, we'll shoot you! Thanks for listening to us! _She wondered what the point of their fake friendliness was- everyone knew _exactly_ what the '_military personnel'_ were like, why even bother? Hell, if those guys were even half as friendly as those stupid posters were, everyone would be a lot happier._  
><em>At the moment, she was patrolling area seven. The place was easily the emptiest part of the QTZ - least half a block of abandoned, crumbling buildings covered it, all of them decorated with thick layers of mold and vines that only added to the uneasy feeling the place gave off. For some illogical reason, the military hadn't destroyed it yet - then again, Anna wasn't sure that the military even knew what 'reason' was. It was the perfect place for illegal things, and having one officer patrol it every night was far from enough.

They probably didn't even care about it. They had plenty of other people to shoot.

She pried her walkman out of her pocket. She'd gotten it from deaf, old man in the slums, along with a few cassettes, and in return she gave him a round of ammo. She put in one earphone, the cold plastic fitting itself in her ear as she clicked play. Upbeat jazz played from it, and even though it wasn't exactly her kind of music, it was far better than nothing.

Just as she was about to put in her second earphone, she saw light coming from her left. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, almost making Anna believe that she had imagined it.

Her hands tightened around her gun as she pointed it in the direction from where it came. She waited a few moments, but nothing more came.

Anna pulled out her radio and spoke into it:

"This is patrol 26 calling in, I'm seeing lights in one of the abandoned houses. Please advise"

White noise filled the air for a moment before the radio violently screeched in response. "_Patrol 26, please state your exact location" _

"Area seven. I-uh-I think I'm at 34 Parkers street"

"_Patrol 26, We'll be sending another patrol officer over, ETA fifteen minutes. Until then, please see what the disturbance was"_

"Understood"

_Fucking idiots, do they want to get me killed?_

She didn't have much of a choice. She clicked the button on her flashlight, shaking it a few times to get it to work while making her way to the old house.

She slowly climbed up the cracked stairs, and placed her hand on the door's knob. She tried a few times to push it open, but her efforts were pointless. _Locked? Why?_

Frustrated, she shined her light over the rest of the house. To no surprise, all the windows had been smashed in. _Well, that's one way._

Carefully, her gloved hands found the edge of the opening where there was no glass. She pulled herself over the edge, and let her feet bang the rotting wooden floor when she finally got in,

She scanned the living room. It looked like it was some rich man's house before it was ransacked and abandoned - its high ceilings, big rooms, and old, torn, yet expensive-looking furniture made it beyond obvious. She used wonder what living in a house like this must have been like, but that years ago. Ever since the infection broke out, she stopped hoping for anything but food and simple shelter.

She sighed and continued her search. The first floor was (thankfully) completely empty, and she was starting to believe that she really had imagined the illumination.

Anna now had two options: The basement, or the upper floors. _Screw it, lets get the basement over with._

She held her breath as she made her way down the damp stairs, careful not to slip on the marble they were made of, and in the meanwhile, wondered what the hell she was doing.

She held up the flashlight and looked around the room. Besides some broken, turned-over furniture, it looked completely empty.

That was why she felt her blood turn to ice when she heard shuffling on her left. She pointed her flashlight and her gun at the direction it came from, praying to God it wasn't a stalker.

"Who's there?! Hands where I can see 'em!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the room.

No response

.

"I said, _hands where I can see them!_"

She let out a sigh of relief when a woman came out from behind a desk, her hands raised high above her head.

The woman didn't look much different than anyone else she'd seen. Her black, curly hair had been tied back into a bun of sorts. She had brown skin that was covered with a dark, sleeveless tank top that went over a white short sleeved shirt, along with cargo pants and green boots. The woman's arms were covered with scars, still bleeding cuts and dirt. Anna felt somewhat sorry for her - it was obvious she had just been through hell.

Anna was just about to relax, when her eyes caught the unmistakable pendant that hung around her neck.

_Fireflies?_

"Marlene," a shaking, higher-pitched voice broke the silence in the room, "who is she?"

Anna hadn't even noticed the child that was clutching on to the woman's pants for dear life. It was a little boy, no older than eight, who looked just as beaten up as the Firefly did.

The woman placed a hand on the boy's neck, pulling him closer and whispering something so soft, Anna couldn't hear.

She set her jaw. "You're fireflies, aren't you?" Anna stated, as if she didn't already know the answer

"Ple- please. Please don't do this", the woman softly begged, "He's just a kid"

Anna took a deep breath, trying to figure out what to do. "Are there any more of you?"

"For the love of God-"

"I asked if there were any fucking more of you!" She said, twice as harsh as she meant to.

"N-n-no, just the two of u-"

**BANG BANG BANG**

"Hey Anna, you there? Open the door!" A voice shouted from above, causing the woman to completely freeze.

_Damn it, they're already here._

"Yeah, uh, I'll be up in a sec" Anna shouted back. _What now?_

"Listen here," Anna said, a serious expression now painting itself on her face, "that's my buddy up there. If he sees you, you're not getting out alive. Do you have a way out of here?"

"Yes," The woman pointed to a closet, her eyes lighting up "There's a tunnel there that leads outside-"

"Good. Get out of here."

The woman paused, not sure if the officer was joking or not. Eventually, she slowly made her way to the piece of furniture. She pushed it, letting it make a loud _**screech**_ sound that almost shook the room. Anna, of course, was still keeping her at gunpoint, not letting her guard down for a second.

The firefly signaled for the boy to jump in, and he did so without hesitation. She, however, looked Anna in the eye, and gave a soft nod. _Thank you, _she said, and disappeared without a trace.

**A/N: I wrote this a while ago, but I felt I had to re-write it. I'm still debating on if I want to continue the story or not. Thoughts?**

** Either way, I'd love to hear your opinions on it, so reviews are very much appreciated! Thank you for reading!**


	2. Grab the light

Anna dragged herself through the door, throwing her paperwork on the table and falling onto a chair. She rubbed her temples out of desperation, trying to calm herself down. _Christ, what have you done?_ She knew damn well what would happen if the military found out, she'd seen it countless times before: they'd burst into her apartment in the middle of the night, dragging her by her hair to their base, where they'd torture her for days, trying to get information out of her that she didn't have. Public execution followed soon after, along with any other Fireflies. _God, what would happen to Nathan?_

Yeah, she knew damn well what would happen, and she did it anyway.

Anna needed to get her mind off of things. She grabbed the strap of her bag and put it next to the pile of papers, rummaging through the old thing and grabbing the bottle of whiskey she'd been saving for occasions like this. She poured the brown liquid, watching the familiar substance fill the porcelain mug halfway. Before putting it back, she took a chug right from the bottle- y'know, for good measure- and screwed the cap back on in a few swift movements.

Oh, how she loved it- the way it burned on her lips and set her throat on fire, letting her concentrate on nothing but physical pain for a few moments. It warmed her from the inside, making her feel much better after a few more sips.

Well, maybe not_ sips_

A fiery sigh few over her lips. Staring at the mug, she couldn't help but think - it was strange, how much society changed. Five years ago, people would think you were an alcoholic if you drank this much at ten in the morning. Nowadays, they called "keeping your fucking sanity"

Hey, they weren't wrong.

Anna rubbed the nape of her neck, allowing her head to dangle on the back of the chair, enjoying a moment of tranquility. Comfort was luxury in low supplies these days, and at times like this, she needed all she could get.

_They won't figure it out. It's okay, they won't._

The sound of rubber footsteps stomping wet concrete almost made Anna jump out of her seat. She swung the last of the drink, hoping he wouldn't notice the sharp smell of alcohol that branded itself on her lips.

A few clicks of a lock later, Nathan walked into the apartment

His eyes widened at the sight of her. "Heeey," her nephew stopped in his tracks, "You're, uh back already?"

"Apparently." Anna shot him a look. She placed two hands on the table. "And just where the hell have you been?"

"Uuhh…" he sheepishly started, "Shopping?"

She threw her head in her hands, trying to calm herself down. "Damn it, Nathan, we've had this conversation before. How many times have I told you not to go anywhere without telling me?"

"Oh, come on," he said casually, "What's the worst that could happ-"

"A lot of things" she cut him off, sounding twice as harsh as she meant to. "I'm sorry, I just…" she took a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts. "I just had a shitty night, alright?"

Nathan twisted his mouth. "Well, maybe this will cheer you up", He wasted no time talking out out two small cassettes from his pocket, sliding them over to her. "They've got a few songs you'll like, I think."

She took them in her dust-covered, reading their names. "Thanks," she smiled, turning each one over, "but you're still in trouble"

He didn't seem to care. Nate opened up their cabinet and scavenged out a pack of crackers. "It's Thursday, y'know. I gotta be at the base soon." He popped a few pretzels in his mouth, letting them crumble to bits between his teeth. " 'nd wuf 're yu doin'?"

Anna simply pointed to the scattered papers on her desk, pursing her lips in joy. Why she had to spend half her time pushing papers was beyond her. People die every day, why write so much useless shit about it?

She watched Nate sit down next to her, offering her a snack, which she gladly accepted, and only when the saltine had crawled past her lips had she realized she'd eaten nothing all day. Had I been so distracted?

"Well then, you have fun with that" Nathan got up from the table, pulling his hoodie over his head and grabbing his backpack. "I gotta get going."

"So soon?"

'Yeah, sorry. See you tonight, then?"

"Alright. Hey, Nate?" she caught his just as he walked out the door. "Don't taser yourself again, alright?"

"Okay, that happened once" he shot back, closing the door with a click.

Nathan would've describe the military base as depressing, but that would be an understatement.

13 usable floors high and made of a concubine of metal rods and fat layers of concrete, it was easily the largest building in the QTZ. Surrounding it was an electrical fence, elegantly laced with barbed wire and charged with 2,000 volts, ever so delicately adding to its charm. Every twenty feet or so, a guard stood, proudly wearing a bulletproof vest and an AK-47 'just in case'. Some of the widows had been broken, then covered up with cloths or boarded up, making most of the rooms (somewhat) usable again.

He imagined this was what concentration camps used to look like.

This glamorous structure was where he was schooled. Well, maybe 'school' was the wrong word. 'Schools' didn't exist anymore, or at least they weren't what the used to be. Nowadays, they'd been replaced with military academies, where they'd train their future members.

Sometimes, like tonight, he'd sleep there. The place held several very small rooms, each containing nothing but a bunk bed. Of course, they were meant for the orphans that the military took in, but that had never stopped him from sharing a room with his close friend, Scott.

Nathan managed to drag himself up the stairs and make his way to the showers. Today's training had worn him out to the bone, and he needed one more than anything. True, they weren't cheap- it was twenty-five ration cards per fifteen gallons of water- but he'd be damned if they weren't worth it. Nathan turned the rusted, hot tap as far as it would go, causing lukewarm water to come out from the old showerhead. The water rushed down him, growing darker and darker as it dragged grime from his scarred, bruised skin. God, I miss soap.

When he had finished scratching the dirt from his skin, he dried himself with an old rag. He packed his cargo pants and exchanged them for soft shorts and an old, cotton shirt. He made his way to his room.

The door squeaked with protest as he pushed it open, revealing the cramped space he'd known too well. On the top bunk, Scott, was lying down. He moved his eyes to Nathan, a smirk on his face. "You look like shit."

"Oh, can it." Nathan threw his backpack next to the bunk, falling down on the lower one. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were ditching today? I would've come with you."

The ginger shrugged. "I had to do some stuff, didn't think you'd be interested."

"Sneaking off with Kate again?"

"Maybe."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what time do we get up tomorrow?"

"Not a clue. Maybe they'll let us sleep for six hours tonight"

"That's the best joke I've ever heard."

Nathan pulled up his backpack, looking for his bottle of water. It was an old thing- its red color had faded out and patterned with grass, dirt and all kinds of other stains. It wasn't that big, true, but then again, it didn't need to be. He kept only simple things in it: a (now empty) water bottle, a knife, a flashlight, a 9mm handgun (which he wasn't exactly allowed to have, but then again, QTZ wasn't exactly safe), a few rounds of ammo and a copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

He pulled out the book, careful not to damage it further. From it's yellowing pages and its worn-out edges, it was easy to tell book was at least a decade old. Nowadays, you could find them for a dime a dozen, but he didn't dare throw it away. It held too many memories.

He opened it's hard cover to the first page. A melancholy smile tugged at his lips when he saw the crude handwriting written in a thick, pink marker. Hapy Birthday, Nathen! It said

_I miss you._

He was pulled out of his thoughts by knocking on the door. Hazel, one of the other recruits, stepped into the room, looking beyond annoyed.

"Hey Haz, what's up?" Scott raised his brows.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I hope you got your rest today, Johnson." the brunette put a hand on her hip, "You and me are patrolling the halls tonight."

"What?!" Scott sat himself up, "That's bullshit!"

"Quite the astute observation" Nathan chuckled.

Hazel shifted her weight onto the doorframe. "Apparently, there's been some 'suspicious activity' going on."

Nathan wrinkled his brow. "Suspicious activity? Like what?"

"Don't know, they were pretty tight-lipped about it. It could be anything -smugglers, Fireflies, thieves- take your pick."

Scott waved it off. "Probably paranoid like always. When do we start?"

"2AM sharp"

Anna finished rubbing her face with her wet rag, placing it back in the water-filled bowl. When she was certain she'd scratched her face raw, she looked up, catching her reflection in the only mirror she owned. God, she looked twenty years older than she actually was. Crow's feet had already started to from at the base of her green, hooded eyes, and were accompanied by soft wrinkles around thin lips. Her round face was framed by her badly cut dirty-blonde bob hairdo, a small nose just peeking out of it. She couldn't help but traced her bitten nails over a scar that hid just under her left cheek. As the days went by, she recognized herself less.

She went to her room and fell on her mattress, letting it squeak under her light weight. Milky moonlight decorated by stars poured through the holes in the curtain and mixed with floating dust. Anna extended her slim fingers, trying to grasp the grains of light, but they touched nothing.

She let her arm fall.

Suddenly, her radio let out a screeching noise, followed by static. She felt her heart skip a beat when yells finally came out of it.

**_"All officers to arms! I repeat, all officers to arms! The Cordyceps Brain Infection has reached the quarantine zone. Report to base, we are evacuating effective immediately."_**

A/N: As always, your thoughts are appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	3. Behind closed doors

**A/N: Changed the rating from T to M due to the violence. Hope you like this chapter!**

Anna felt her heart pound in her throat as she stormed down the flight of stairs, her gloved fingers catching paint on the old railings. A million thoughts seized her mind: How did the infection get in? How bad was it? Could they contain it? Was it too late?

_Where is Nathan?_

As much as she wanted to deny it, she'd always been downright paranoid about his safety. Nate was still young, sure, but he was clever, strong, and he knew his way around a gun. He was beyond capable for his age, so why did she panic a little bit every time he went out without telling her? Why did she check on him at least twice every night to make sure he was there? Why did she give him a gun and make sure he had it with him all the time?

The answer was simple: Because she had no one else. She'd lost all touch with her friends after the infection, her sister had passed away, not to even mention her parents.

After all, we all need someone to loose our minds over, right?

Years later, the ghost of that night still haunted her. She could still feel her sister's fingernails dig into her shoulders, and if she listened closely, she could hear the way her voice cracked through a wall of tears:

_Promise me you'll keep him safe._

_I'm trying Paige. I'm trying._

That boy was everything and everyone she cared about, and like fucking hell she was going to let something happen to him.

She slammed open the door, exposing herself to hell on earth.

She'd known it had to be bad, but nothing could've prepared her for this scene. Soldiers were charging in all directions, shooting everything that moved - not bothering to make a difference between infected and civilians. Buildings were barricaded and set on fire, the people inside releasing horrible screams that violently shook the damp air. Not far from her left, a runner sunk its teeth into the jugular vein of an officer, blood running down it's chin as it mercilessly chewed on the mouthful of flesh.

Anna felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. _Runners? _No, it couldn't be. She had to be seeing things - it took you at _least _a day to turn into one of those things, how the fuck could there be _runners? _

The creature snapped its head to her, flashing it's orb-like eyes and letting out a vicious scream. It's rotting teeth and overgrown fingernails were smeared in blood, matching the color of it's fogged eyes almost perfectly. From there, dark red veins emerged, decorating its face as if they were tattoos.

Anna turned around and ran. Despite the sounds of gunshot and the painful rings of screams, she could hear it's footsteps growing louder with each passing moment. The infected lunged forward, grabbing her by the ankle and effectively tripping her forward.

She hit the ground with her side, grunting as her shoulder met the cold concrete. Anna rolled over to her back, landing the heel of her boot twice in the creature's face, to which it responded by it let out a vicious scream and digging it's rotting nails into her leg. She struggled, but it was no use - by the time she'd pulled out her gun, it had sunk it's teeth half an inch deep in her calf.

Anna let out a painful scream and kicked it so hard it's neck almost snapped. Gritting her teeth, she fired off two rounds in it's head, ending it's miserable life then and there.

She pushed the corpse off of her and tried to sit herself up. She'd badly scraped her right arm in the fall, but that was the least of her worries. With shaking hands, she gently pulled up her pant leg, revealing the teeth marks that branded itself in her rough skin.

Getting bitten by an infected. What a cliche way to die. It had to happen, she knew it - after all, who gets to die of a heart attack anymore? - but no matter how much you expect it, nothing can prepare you for death.

She felt her world crash around her. The screams, the pleas for help, the sound of shoes hitting the pavement- they all slowly faded away into oblivion, until she could hear nothing but the sound of her short breaths piercing her lungs.

Her throat choked up, her heartbeat grew faster, and she felt a cold sensation run through her body. Was she crying? She couldn't tell. Her whole life before this moment- all the people she'd loved, all the places she'd been to, all the memories she'd made - she could feel them shatter on the blood-stained ground as though they were made of glass, sending shards flying in the air, each one of them lodging itself deep in her heart.

Was her life flashing before her? No, that wasn't it. She'd felt like this before. When the nights would get too dark and all the light in the world couldn't make them any brighter, she'd get the same sense of emptiness in her. It ate her alive, ripping her apart piece by piece until it had grinded her to dust, so fine the wind could have swept it her away.

And quite frankly, sometimes she'd wish it did.

This time was different though. She felt safe. As horrible as it sounded, knowing that her death would come soon gave her a sense of tranquility. She'd always known she had one foot in the grave, and she'd had to fall in eventually, right?

She thought of Paige. Of course, what else would her mind do, if not taunt her with memories of her sister? It was so frustrating - she'd closed those memories behind a door in her mind, and no matter how many times she locked it, those inky black thoughts always found a way to creep out and poison her mind.

No, she wasn't thinking about her death. Not this time. Her mind recalled how Paige would always have her brown hair in a loose bun.. A little, curly lock of hair always jumped out, just behind her right ear, and despite Anna always teasing her about it, her sister always wore it that way, just to annoy her. What a character she was! Anna remembered telling her how she didn't like a shirt she'd bought, and Paige wore nothing but that for a week straight. The same rule applied to anything else - she was always one to spite people. For a mother of two, she sure could behave like a child sometimes. God, it was like a memory from another life.

Then again, it was.

As always, her mind shifted back to that night. What date was it? Somewhere in late September or early October?

Did it matter?

_Promise me you'll keep him safe._

Anna felt a jolt go through her body. It wasn't sadness, nor regret. No, not this time. It was rage. Pure rage. Rage at the fucker who just bit her. Rage at her sister for leaving her. Rage at the world for fucking her over again and again. Rage at herself for being such a shitty person. Like fucking hell she was going to let this damned thing have the pleasure of get the better of her. _No, you're not giving up. Not yet. You're not allowed to. _She leaned on her elbows and propped herself up, favoring her right leg as she stood. _You can die later, damn it, but right now, you've got a kid to protect._

_**~Earlier~**_

Nathan woke up to the sound of gunfire. He shot up, smacking his head on the top bunk and letting out a soft yelp. He rubbed his forehead in pain, cursing under his breath. _I hate these stupid beds._

He blinked a few times, recovering from his sudden wake-up. He listened for any other sounds, and when he heard nothing for ten seconds, he concluded he'd just had a bad dream. It wasn't uncommon for him, and now that he'd thought about it, was there a person out there that didn't have nightmares? Probably not. Every time he shared a room with someone, they'd always mutter in their sleep. They'd say names. They'd tell people to run. Their hands sometimes clenched into fists and their lips quivered. He didn't know a person that hadn't lost someone, or even _everyone_ to the cordyceps. It took him years to get over losing his family. Hell, he still wasn't over it.

That's why he still kept the stupid book.

He was about to lie back down when Scott slammed the door open.

"Get the fuck up!", he yelled, grabbing Nate by the arm and almost throwing him off the bed, "We're leaving."

"Let go of me!" he struggled, "What the-" Nathan's pupils dilated when he saw his friend's condition. Scott looked like hell, and that was putting it mildly. His freckles mixed with dots of blood, while his arms held several bruises, many of which looked disturbingly like handprints. The boy held a gun in his hand with a death grip and his face was plastered with a panicked expression. Nathan's only reaction was to drop his jaw.

"Did you fucking hear me?" Scott smacked him on the back of the head, "Put on your shoes on princess, we gotta go!"

He didn't question his friend's orders, lacing up his sneakers within moments. "What the hell happened to you?"

Scott rubbed his face with both hands, trying to calm himself and failing horribly. "It got in. It fucking got in. I don't know how, man, but it did, and n-now-" he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. He didn't need to say more, it wasn't too hard to connect the dots.

"Listen to me Nathan," He grabbed his friend's shoulders "Half the fucking base has gone mad. We have to go._ Now."_

_The base is the most secure place in the entire quarantine zone. If the infection is here…_

He swung his backpack over his shoulder and loaded his gun. "What about the alarm?"

"Yeah, yeah." Scott waved a hand, "Hazel has it covered. How many rounds do you have left?"

"Enough. Where to?"

"She said she'd tell everyone to meet up at the garage. We can get a car from there. Now get your ass in gear and let's move."

Scott was halfway out the door before he noticed Nate hadn't moved an inch. He sighed in frustration, "What now?"

"What about my aunt?"

His friend huffed, running a hand through his hair. "She's an officer or whatever, right? I'm sure she's on her way here already. Listen, can we just leave already?"

Nathan knew he was being bullshitted, but what else could he do? A heavy heart in his chest, he followed Scott down the blood-stained halls.

Anna slammed the doors open so hard that they almost broke. Two bullets took down the runner that was behind it, and she wasted no time half-running, half-limping down the old corridors. She'd ripped off her sleeve and tied it around her wound, somewhat clogging up the bleeding. Her pant leg rested over it, effectively hiding it from the view of any other officers. The sharp, aching pain was still there, however, and with every step, she drove her teeth deeper into her lower lip, trying to ignore it as best she could.

The base was surprisingly empty, save a few more infected. She made her way to the stairs, taking a deep breath before she started.

_Alright, you can do this. How hard can it be? _Anna grabbed the rusted railing, putting her right leg on the first stair and wincing in pain when she did the same with her left. She bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming 'motherfucker' at the top of her lungs.

_Nathan. Right._

Again. And again. _Things can never be easy, can they? _ Each step tore at her muscle, causing her to grit her teeth. After a minute of agony, she'd managed to get to the first floor. Yet more infected wholeheartedly greeted her, and she returned the welcoming with more bullets. _How the fuck are there so many of these things?_ She knew the cordyceps could spread like wildfire - she'd seen it herself - but this was absolutely insane.

What a stupid time to think about this. It didn't matter, not now. She didn't stop moving until she got to Nate's room.

She turned the knob, and her heart sank to her stomach when she found the room empty. _Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it! _She slammed a fist on the wall, causing her knuckles to ache in protest. _Of course they evacuated, what that fuck did you expect?_

She looked out the window, watching what was left of the officers run out of the QTZ gates. She cursed, furious at herself for not coming sooner.

Wait, who was that? Could it be? Her eyes were caught on a boy with brown hair and a red backpack, who closely followed the small group. She couldn't see his face well enough, but who else could it be?

She cocked her head forwards, trying to get a better look. "Nate! _**Nate!**_" She yelled, her fists pounding on the window and almost breaking the glass. _God damn it, why can't I open this thing?_ She yelled his name a few more times, her voice growing louder and more violent with every screech, but it was all in vain. The boy was well out of earshot, and within seconds, he'd disappeared into an old, black jeep. The metal walls that barricaded the quarantine zone from outside world closed behind him, sealing her inside.

She put her back up against the wall, feeling the chilling concrete bite into her. She slid down to the floor, putting her head in her hands.

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck._

She needed to get out of here. She needed to find him. To say goodbye. To say she was sorry.

Where would she go? The base only had one exit, and they'd just closed it in front of her eyes.

She took off her backpack, her fingers wiggling inside, trying to find another round of ammo. Instead, they'd caught something cold and flat.

She pulled out the strange object, knitting her brows when she saw it. It was the old Firefly pendant she'd found a week ago. _What on earth is this doing here?_

She rewound her memories to the conversation she'd had with the Firefly last night. Didn't she mention a tunnel that led out of this hellhole?

Her eyes widened and her mouth curled into a smile. That was it - her ticket out. It wasn't that far, true, but could she make it there in time? Who cared, it's not like she had another option.

With a gun full of bullets and eyes full of fire, Anna pulled herself up and got the fuck out of the building.

One hand on a wall and the other holding a gun, Anna limped her way through the old, broken streets. Each step hurt more than the last, and her bandage tugged at her wound with every movement, but she didn't dare give in. She just bit harder on her lip (from which a good amount of blood flowed) and pressed on.

Sticking to the smaller, better hidden streets, Anna was careful not to draw attention. If a pack of runners found her now, she doubted she'd last more than a minute. Only one of those abominations had found her, but she'd shot it before it lay a hand on her. After twenty minutes spent navigating through the broken city, she'd gotten to her destination.

Anna limped up the old stairs, almost falling over when the rotten railing had snapped under her weight. She tried the front door, both thankful and surprised to find it unlocked. She pushed it open, listening for any signs of infected. Silence. Anna let out a sigh of relief. She made her way down the stairs, hoping on one leg the whole way down.

She turned on her flashlight when she reached the basement. She shone it around, immediately finding her exit. Strangely enough, it was fully exposed - no cabinet or sofa covered it this time. _Had someone been here before? _Probably - it was unlikely that just one Firefly knew about this.

Well, whoever they were, they seemed to be long gone. She sat down, swinging both legs over the edge. She shone her flashlight into the hole, checking to see if she'd kill herself jumping down.

A ten foot fall, huh? This was gonna hurt.

She took a deep breath and pushed herself off, bending her knees as her boots met the stone floor. She clenched her fists and fell over, groaning in pain. _Two seconds. You have two seconds to get up._ She recovered as quickly as she could, reaching for her flashlight that had rolled a few feet away.

She observed her surroundings. The walls above were made of old stone and hung unusually low, but the ceiling seemed to grow higher the more she progressed forward. The floor was divided in half by dark green water about two inches deep, giving off a horrible smell to say the least. The air was so damp and stuffy it seemed to cling to her clothing. It looked like an old sewer of sorts.

She walked down the dark hall, trying to calm herself down. It was better than being chased by infected, sure, but it was still frightening._ It can't be that bad, though. _She tried to reassure herself._ After all, the Firefly had been confident enough to use it._ What was her name? Marla? Maria? She couldn't remember.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard footsteps behind her. Before she could turn around, a blunt object had slammed into the back of her head, knocking her to the ground. Her breath stopped for a moment, and the last thing she felt before slipping out of consciousness was the cold, damp floor caressing her cheek.


End file.
